Zahid, who is also home minister, said efforts to safeguard the proper readings of the Islamic holy book and the Prophet’s teachings must extend beyond the written word.

He also urged the Home Ministry and the Malaysian Islamic Religious Development Department (Jakim) to closely monitor the spread of controversial claims regarding the hadith online.

“For example, using a hashtag which says true hadith, for instance,” he said.

Such efforts were necessary to protect the Muslim community from efforts to cause internal rifts, he said in his opening speech at the Malaysia Hadith Regulation Discourse and Hadith Text Writing and Publication Guidelines programme here.

Zahid said his call was not to lay blame with any party, but merely an exhortation for all to return to Islam’s true path.